Contents

Introduction

CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between governments that came into force in 1975. The import, export and use for commercial gain of certain species requires a CITES permit.

Animal and Plant Health Agency’s Centre for International Trade - Bristol is the part of the UK CITES management authority responsible for dealing with CITES applications.

CITES news

Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) Regulations 2018

The Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) Regulations 2018 will come into force on 01 October 2018, replacing COTES 1985, 1997, 2005, 2007 and 2009. Schedule 2 of COTES 2018 introduces civil sanctions as the enforcement mechanism in two new circumstances; i) the advertising for sale of Annex A specimens without display of its EC/ Article 10 permit number (Regulation 6 of COTES) and ii) incorrect packaging and labelling of caviar (Regulations 64(2), 66(6) and 66(7) of Commission Regulations 865 of 2006). An enforcement policy for civil sanctions is being developed and guidance will be consulted on. As a result the finalised guidance will not be published by 01 October. Accordingly the civil sanctions set out in Schedule 2 will not be used until after the publication of this guidance. All other offences are unaffected and will come into force on 01 October 2018. Any queries should be sent to Kristopher.blake@defra.gsi.gov.uk

High levels of CITES applications

We are currently dealing with large numbers of CITES applications. Applications are dealt with strictly in the order of date received and will be processed as soon as possible. Please do not query the status of your application until 15 working days after the date of applying.

UK ivory sales ban

The UK will introduce a ban on ivory sales through the Ivory Act 2018.

Preparations are now underway to bring the ban into force. The UK government are working on the measures needed for implementation, including secondary laws, guidance and a new online registration service. More information will available later this year.

Step 1 - application

Your application will need to be accompanied by the correct fee. Cheques should be made payable to APHA.

If you are applying for an import permit you need to obtain and attach a copy of the export permit before you submit the application.

Applications, with supporting documents, can be submitted by post or email.

If you cannot electronically sign the application form, we require a declaration in the remarks box, on the application form stating that you, the email account owner is the actual applicant, (i.e. I, your name, am the owner of the email address and also the applicant).

Step 2 – consideration

As we receive thousands of applications in the post each year we do not acknowledge receipt of an application made by post.

If there is no problem with your application you may not hear from us until you receive your paperwork. If you apply by email, you will receive a response confirming the arrival of your application.

Once we receive your application a Case Officer, will log your application onto our system and complete the necessary steps to determine whether the documents can be issued.

Often this includes sending it to our scientific advisors. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew is the scientific authority for plant applications and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the scientific authority for animals.

At this stage you do not need to do anything, unless specifically asked by your Case Officer.

Step 3 – decision

Once a decision has been reached your Case Officer will either:

a) authorise your paperwork, print it, sign and stamp it and send it to you

or

b) write a letter to you explaining why your application has been refused

Whatever you have applied for we aim to have an answer back to you within 15 working days of receiving your application.

Methods of payment

All payments should be made in £ sterling. Please do not send cash.

Fees are payable on application and are for the processing of the application. Refunds will not be issued if the application is refused or cancelled after processing has started. Applications without a fee will not be processed unless they have been waived for conservation purposes.

Fees can be paid by:

cheque - cheques must be made payable to APHA

postal order – postal orders must be made payable to APHA and counterfoils should be retained for your own records

card - to pay by card (all major credit and debit cards accepted except American Express), contact our Central Finance Department on 01633 631 800 or credit-control.aph@sscl.gse.gov.uk and explain what you want to pay for e.g. CITES Article 10 certificate

Further guidance documents in relation to CITES are available on the archived web pages on the National Archive website. Please note that this guidance is available for information only and may be out-of-date.

Legislation

CITES is an international agreement which aims to protect endangered species by regulating and restricting the trade in certain species. It is applied within the EU by regulation 338/97.

EU Legislation

EU Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 - this is the EU regulation which applies the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in European law. It sets out the requirements for trade within the EU and with countries outside of the EU.

EU Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 - this document is a consolidated version of (EC) No 865/2006 incorporating 100/2008, 791/2012, 792/2012 and 1283/2013. It is intended purely as a documentation tool on how 338/97 is to be implemented and is not a legal document in its own right. If you wish to refer to the individual regulations and amendments please use the links below.

Release of information

Information supplied in applications may be used for the purposes of monitoring compliance of EC Regulations 338/97 and 865/2006 and the investigation of possible offences.

The information may be passed to UK Border Force under the provisions of Article 14 of Regulation 338/97 and to the Police and the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) for the purposes of gathering and analysing intelligence on possible wildlife crimes.

Information (including personal data) may also be released on request to other enforcement authorities, under the Environmental Information Regulations, the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

It is a condition of making an application that you agree to the department passing on information to these organisations.

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